- Joined
- Jul 10, 2014
- Messages
- 3
- Reaction score
- 0
So ever since I was young, my parents groomed me to be a doctor. Once I headed into college, I started to have second thoughts and looked into careers in a bunch of other professions. Well, after careful consideration, I can say that I do want to enter healthcare, but I can't decide between declaring Pre-Med or Pre-Dent.
One of the main reasons I was turned off from medical school was the fact that my career wouldn't begin until my 30s. Undergrad, postgrad, residency - it's too much! Especially since school has always been a drag for me. I want to enter the workforce as soon as I can and pay off all my debts.
The prospect of residency matching was also a turn off for me. I've done some minor research into different specialties, and ophthalmology and orthopedics are the ones I've found to be the most interesting, especially since there's a good mix of clinical work and hands on work. I've also considered taking on family medicine, but I feel like the pay doesn't justify the amount of schooling. The possibility of me not being matched to them and having all those years go to "waste" is definitely a major deterrent. I since I am more interested in those topics, and I do have more knowledge about them compared to dental, I guess medical would be the right choice, but I feel like 7+ years of intensive learning would end up making them dull.
Looking into dental, I appreciate the fact that I can enter the workforce sooner, work with my hands, and be more likely to operate my own practice, but I guess since the incentive to become one wasn't with me for 19+ years, it feels really weird for me to consider becoming a dentist. Overall, the specialties seem kinda dull, but I do appreciate the fact that dentistry allows you to return to school and complete a residency after working as a general dentist for as long as you like.
I spent some time shadowing my family doctor and my dentist and both came down to a "daily grind". My doctor has a really small practice with a ton of patients so he's constantly pumping through a list of people with a variety of ailments. My dentist has a bigger practice, but not as large of a density of patients, so she does do some business management in her free time. Her patients were more "fixed". General cleanings, whitenings, and braces were mostly the issues she had to deal with. Honestly, I think I'd be okay with either clientele. Both have their pros and cons, so it's hard for me to make a definitive decision.
Now I'm stuck looking at things like quality of life and things like that. I'd go on but I fell like I've drolled on long enough. Any input is appreciated
One of the main reasons I was turned off from medical school was the fact that my career wouldn't begin until my 30s. Undergrad, postgrad, residency - it's too much! Especially since school has always been a drag for me. I want to enter the workforce as soon as I can and pay off all my debts.
The prospect of residency matching was also a turn off for me. I've done some minor research into different specialties, and ophthalmology and orthopedics are the ones I've found to be the most interesting, especially since there's a good mix of clinical work and hands on work. I've also considered taking on family medicine, but I feel like the pay doesn't justify the amount of schooling. The possibility of me not being matched to them and having all those years go to "waste" is definitely a major deterrent. I since I am more interested in those topics, and I do have more knowledge about them compared to dental, I guess medical would be the right choice, but I feel like 7+ years of intensive learning would end up making them dull.
Looking into dental, I appreciate the fact that I can enter the workforce sooner, work with my hands, and be more likely to operate my own practice, but I guess since the incentive to become one wasn't with me for 19+ years, it feels really weird for me to consider becoming a dentist. Overall, the specialties seem kinda dull, but I do appreciate the fact that dentistry allows you to return to school and complete a residency after working as a general dentist for as long as you like.
I spent some time shadowing my family doctor and my dentist and both came down to a "daily grind". My doctor has a really small practice with a ton of patients so he's constantly pumping through a list of people with a variety of ailments. My dentist has a bigger practice, but not as large of a density of patients, so she does do some business management in her free time. Her patients were more "fixed". General cleanings, whitenings, and braces were mostly the issues she had to deal with. Honestly, I think I'd be okay with either clientele. Both have their pros and cons, so it's hard for me to make a definitive decision.
Now I'm stuck looking at things like quality of life and things like that. I'd go on but I fell like I've drolled on long enough. Any input is appreciated
Last edited: